Ice into Intimidation
by TheSpidersBeauty
Summary: A visit to the Trancy estate isn't quite what Elizabeth hoped it would be. A sure bipolar adolescent with desire for attention reacts... quite ignoble to the news of the rivaling Earl's and his Fiancee's break up. However, with a bit of tolerance and compassion they soon realize they are both quite alike. But will they last? (Alois x Elizabeth)
1. Ice into Intimidation

**Authors note: For those that do not know the story of Black Butler, I shall fill you in.**

**PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING THE ANIME AND ARE YET TO REACH SERIES TWO OR EPISODE 10 READ AT YOUR OWN RISK SPOILERS ALERT.**

Our story is set in the eighteen hundreds where class was something of two extremes. The two characters this novel focuses around are Alois Trancy, a psychotic bibolarist and Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford, a girl of noble birth and feminine innocence.

Black Butler is a story about Faustian pacts (an act where that of mortality makes a deal with a demon; service in exchange for their soul.) Elizabeth, being educated in only the necessary for a young girl of fourteen does not know about the relationship between Ciel Phantomhive (Her original fiancé) and his butler, (Sebastian Michealis – Ciel's demon.) Nor does she know about the pact between Alois and his demon, Claude Faustus.

Alois Trancy: 'The unofficial story is that, shortly after he was born, Alois was kidnapped, and his mother, in her deep grief, committed suicide, leaving his father to search for him alone.

During his time spent abducted, Alois claimed that he was kept as a slave in an unknown village. An event, which occurred within the said village, left all the villagers dead, leaving Alois as the only survivor. Alois then returned with Claude Faustus and soon became the head of the Trancy household, after his father died under mysterious circumstances.

However, later, Alois experienced a flashback about his actual past as Jim Macken, an orphan from the village. He and his little brother, Luka, had been treated unkindly by the villagers ever since their parents died, which forced them to survive as thieves and pickpockets. Jim expressed a bitter hatred of the villagers, and declared that everyone who was cruel to them ought to die.

When a mysterious calamity swept the village, killing nearly everyone including Luka, Jim was taken in, along with a group of other boys, by the head of the Trancy estate who kept them for the purpose of pedophilia. While in captivity, Jim heard rumors about a fairy that grants wishes, and after following the instructions he was given, he summoned the spider demon, Claude. In spite of that, he realized he had no wish to fulfill, and Claude told Jim to call for him again when he finds a wish.

Although Earl Trancy originally despised him because of his "filthy" eyes, Jim set about seducing him. Soon, he became his favorite bed-mate, and subsequently his heir. Jim, parading from then on as Alois Trancy, received favorable treatment, such as fashionable clothes and more freedom in the mansion.' (Wiki)

Alois appears to be a pastel blonde with blue eyes and a round face of youth. He is commonly depicted in an oriental style blouse, a green striped waist coat and and very small 'booty shorts' complete with thigh high stockings and laced up knee height boots. He also wears a thick satin ribbon around his neck as a bow.

Elizabeth Midford: A lot of Elizabeth's past is unknown. All we really know is that her and Ciel would play together often and she would escape from the stress of her strict mother who is a very proper woman who is democratically devious, supporting women's rights and making a profession of sword fighting. Though her father is a man of business, they share a very tight bond. She wears low heeled and flat shoes from previous frustrations of being taller than Ciel, whereas he wanted nothing more to grow up, she remained child like (Mostly for the gratification for Ciel.)

Elizabeth is a young teenage girl with emerald green eyes. She has waist-long, golden-blonde hair with a cowlick that has a slight curl in the front; the rest of the hair is typically worn in two long drills.

Elizabeth often wears elegant dresses that are accompanied by different headbands, both of which are usually decorated with flowers or ribbons. Her accessories include gold earrings and low-heeled shoes; her normal attire, however, in the first season is a red dress with pink roses and white ribbons and a red headband or a pink coat and matching bonnet.

'Elizabeth is a strong-willed and cheerful girl with a fondness for cute things. Her hobby is to make everything and everybody "cute". When disagreed with, she is prone to temper tantrums and bouts of self-centeredness. She imposes her sense of fashion and preference upon others and doggedly refuses to take no for an answer. For instance, she insists that Ciel refer to her by her nickname, 'Lizzy' for short. However, on the occasions when she goes too far and upsets someone, she feels horrible and will

even cry over her mistake' (Wiki)

What were his actions but spite to his enemy? What did she deserve? Well... anything if it would shut her up. The Earl was careless and selfish. He didn't care for her. He may have taken her hand at a dance but that was just to provoke her beloved. He saw her as nothing but loud and stupid. But he was cunning; oh so cunning. He was cunning and cruel. "Good evening, dear Miss Elizabeth," He chimed with a false elated demeanor.

The sight of the young Earl, infuriated Elizabeth. Not even his flawless skin, his beautiful ocean blue eyes nor his perfectly bleached hair could have an effect on her. He had tried to steal her away from her dear Ciel and every time she saw this boy, that memory hit her like a bullet. This ball, tonight, was merely for the sake of her betrothed. He had asked her to accompany him, and she gladly said yes, unknowing that the Young Earl, Alois Trancy, would also be attending the party. "Good evening, Alois," she said coldly and with a displeased smile on her face.

"Oh, come now!" He exclaimed with a carefully rehearsed smile, a smile of tenderness; earnest and recognized. Alois had a skill. Maybe it was worthy of talent in the dramatics, maybe it was just second nature to him; a talent that had been forced upon him. Survival was its greatest extent. Abuse and words of detest, the infinite ache in his body and skin - all of it he had to ignore, to wear with disinterest. If he was going to play the noble young man, he could definitely do it. "Are you not enjoying yourself, Elizabeth? You don't plan on shunning me all evening, I hope...?"

"Shunning you?" She casually replied. She knew what she was doing. She didn't want the past to repeat itself. Elizabeth knew the young Earl Trancy was a trickster; she could tell by his devilish smile. However, he didn't know that she was good at the game that both of them could easily play. "I don't seem to understand what you mean?" She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows in curiosity. The green of her eyes showed innocence to the people around her, but sent daggers at Alois, shooting him straight through the heart.

The boy had inwardly groaned at the girl's response, letting just a gaze of stoic affliction onto his pallid face; shortly lived but still flashed to be seen. Taking in a slight breath he held it momentarily before breathing it out through his nose, returning to his gentle smile. Though they were both speaking of tame words to one another, another conversation was taking place between them; one of hate, insipid fondness. "Don't mind me... I'm speaking through my arse I suppose," he began with a chuckle, not wanting to over-do his sweetness; he allowed that word to pierce the kind exhibit.

"Yes, I suppose you are," she agreed, still smiling of course. His behavior was rather obnoxious and she found him more repulsing than he had ever been before. Only one night had set this life-long hatred in stone and she refused to move past it.

"Elizabeth!" The young Earl Phantomhive beckoned her to his side across the room where he was speaking with, who she assumed were, high class business representatives. She never really payed attention to names. She smiled in her fiancé's direction and began to walk past the blonde boy. She stopped as they were side by side. "Do anything wreckless tonight and you'll regret it," she whispered.

Elizabeth. She was growing up. He felt the sudden release as his face returned to its comfortable apathetic setting. He didn't have to pretend anymore. She had already broken that part of their encounter. With a glance to her direction his blue eyes met the stubborn green set that refused to turn his way. With his hands balled into fists and canines beginning to crush together, the bogus Earl took another sharp intake of perfumed air, his words low, stained with enmity, "...We'll see."

She huffed quietly and stood there for a moment. She then retorted, "I don't understand why you have to act so childish. Maybe if you matured, I would actually respect you." With that, she walked towards her young Earl who was continuing to beckon her towards him. As soon as she was a few feet farther from the Trancy boy, she smiled widely, her eyes full of excitement and started lightly skipping to Ciel's side.


	2. Pain into Persistence

Evil could have been a hurricane. Evil could have been disease and famine or a hungry lion. But evil had taken form in blonde tresses and skimpy shorts; a smirking demeanor and a taunting tone. Evil was a boy deprived of a social acknowledgment. He knew nothing of sweetness nor saw anything of a childhood. Evil was a boy called Alois Trancy, a false Earl to the Trancy manor. So what was Elizabeth doing at his front door weeks after this discovery when she had been the one to recognize his unsightly mien, when she had purposely told him 'Do not even look at me,' what did the curly adolescent want? "Elizabeth...?" He began, returning to the false and friendly poise he displayed primarily for trickery. "Did you miss me that much...?" He snickered.

"I must speak to you, Alois." The young Lady responded boldly, but the Earl could see she was on the verge of tears.

With a raise of his brow and a pout of indifference, Alois stepped aside to allow her to enter the manor. Whatever there was to talk about he didn't much care of. But she looked vulnerable and things were going to get interesting, if they were to be left alone... This was the only reason she was allowed access.

"Alois, I know that you are repulsed by me in every way," she began, sighing, her voice cracking slightly. "But I need someone right now." She looked up at the blonde boy who was completely shocked at what she had just said. "Ciel...he.." Lizzy began to cry and she fell to her knees in the middle of the room, tears soaking into her snow white gloves.

The boy all but stared as the girl driven by pride and happiness broke down into a sobbing mess. But the state of confusion soon melted into something of a smirk, crossed arms and a stance of status as the height filled him with a hierarchy. Something concerning Ciel had reduced the young woman to the floor. And she had come to the wrong person indeed. With a cruel snicker he stepped one foot closer to her, his taunting glare now turning into disgust. "What about that little shit?"

"He...he left me." Her voice echoed in the room held together by cathedral ceilings. She tried to speak through broken sobs, but nothing came out.

Alois threw his head back in a giggle that grew into stingy laughter. "Oh is that so?" He said with an entertained tone. "He finally got bored, then?"

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "S-stop, Alois. I need someone to talk to. Paula is gone and I just...I-" She stood up and instantaneously hugged the young Earl. She didn't even realize what she was doing until she felt the purple satin of his jacket beneath her damp chin. She wasn't asking him to be her friend, she was asking for comfort. It was a lonely world. Alois knew that, and she, this young Lady, was alone and needed something she hoped even the Young Earl Trancy would be considerate of.

He wasn't expecting that. With a flinch up right, his arms flared out with surprise and his eyes didn't seem to wander from the nasty glare. With the crush of his canines and the clad of his fists his gaze turned into something of melancholy. No, he didn't care one bit about her. And he soon came to reject the sudden flash of sympathy for her. "...Get off, you sniffling wench. You'll make my shoulder dirty."

She stayed on the ground. She wasn't crying just staring up at the boy who had thrown her down. "Alois.." She stood up and slapped his right cheek. She was silent and then spoke as shock grew across the boy's face. "You are always so upset when no one gives you attention, and then you reject them when they come to you." She looked at the Earl. His face was covered in bewilderment.

He blinked once in the shock of her hit, his face a notch to the left with the force of the unexpected. Returning his gaze with the sting in his cheek he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, closely and intimidatingly. It could have been erotic. But he was too rough, to stingy as she fell with the jerk into his palm. He clasped tightly around her jaw; a height advantage. "Do you really think you have it so bad? Do you really think you're alone? That you'll never be loved again? Do you want to die?" He spoke with a quiver. "I am rejecting you... because you are of no importance to me!"

She was shaking from the pain in her jaw and she struggled to get away. "You're the only one who would listen." She yanked her arm free. Alois could see the red marks forming on her jawline and wrists from where he so maliciously held her. "I am alone, Alois, and so are you. I thought you would be more understanding than this." She glared at him. Her words were still shocking to the boy. "I took the first step, Alois. Now it's your turn."

With a sigh he released her and spun on his toes to place his arms back in a tuck across his chest. Yes, he understood exactly what she was saying, but he was too arrogant to admit that he too was alone. "I have Claude, Elizabeth. I'm not alone. You are the one who is a mess, you are the unwanted!" He had almost convinced himself through the vindictive attitude he wore with shameless hubris. But her sobbing would not be enough; it would not break the ice to Alois Trancy's compassion.

But that was fine. She was... entertaining. "You know..." He turned a heavy head over his shoulder to glance at the girl. "You're not a pretty crier... at all."

She stood still, looking at him. Maybe there was some truth to what he was saying but she didn't understand how someone could be so cold. How someone so young could hold the anger that he had. "Alois, tell me something."

"What do you want?" He snapped, turning around to face her yet again with a new expression; a smirk, a slight smile of both amusement and jeer.

"What happened to you?" Her face was warm. It was a serious expression but one of comfort nonetheless.

He raised a brow at that, a tranquil set to his mouth. "Do you really care?"

"Yes, actually, I do." She politely smiled. "I'd like to know what's troubling you so much. I know you're hiding behind this confident Earl stature, but I can see through you, Alois Trancy. What happened to make you so hateful?"

The gaze that nurtured so much hate and enmity turned distant and round. A hand traveled up to press against his forehead and he released a breath of deflation. "I don't understand... Why someone so wrapped up in self-pity wants to hear my life story. But if you really want to hear about it…" He didn't really care too much about telling her the ins and outs. It was attention, after all.

She grinned at his snobby remark, but proceeded to walk over to the purple clothed chair across the room where she sat and rested her hands on her lap. "Care to join me?" She pointed her hand in the direction of a chair directly across from her.

He stared at her for a while, his hands returning to fists again as he stiffly obeyed and joined beside her. And it was almost infuriating how she had tamed him. And he was quite aware of that. With a tone of frustration, he began. "I grew up in a village. I didn't know my parents, but I had a friend... he was like a brother ta' me. And the people there... the villagers were mean. But they died. Everyone. All of 'em in a fire..."

Her eyes widened in curiosity and shock. "How is that even possible?"

"Well I don't bloody well know," He yelled, coming out of his calmer state. She slightly moved backwards, out of his vocal range. He noticed and quieted himself. "...Anyway, my brother, he died as well. An' then the men came to sort the ruins and brought me to this place. It used to be the previous Trancy's home, but he died as well."

"That's horrible. I'm so sorry, Alois." Her sympathy was genuine and it was shown clearly on her face.

"...Mmm..." They sat quietly for a moment, mostly because he was still letting the idea of her interest sink in. With a slow movement, he lifted his gaze from his hands to stare at the girl. "...What's wrong with you?" He asks as if they are in hospital.

"Excuse me?" She was surprised by his question. "I don't exactly understand what you mean.."

"Why are you so upset? I'm sorry, but Ciel Phantomhive... Is not someone I would consider worth crying over."

"He's my fiancé, Alois." She looked down at her lap.

Without any understanding of what lovable relations were, he simply shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Alois. It's hard to explain. I know how lowly you think of me, but...Ciel…I never thought that something like this would happen to me and now that it has, I'm lost." She looked up at him, sadness and confusion written across her face. She did not cry and her voice didn't falter. "Can you try to understand?"

The Earl was fourteen. He should know by now that life was not kind. And he did understand, he did feel pity. But there was no way he was going to let her know that.

With another shrug, he leaned on the arm that rested at the arm of his chair into Lizzy's space, a look of disdain as he reached her ear in a low hush. "Maybe you should make a wish." As clueless as she was to his own little joke, he had to chuckle.

She scooted over in the seat slightly in the opposite direction, uncomfortable with his intrusion. "A-A wish? What do you mean?"

"...Nothing," He replied, and moved his head just slightly away from her to rest it in his palm. "Hmm," he sighed. "Poor pup. So what did you do, I wonder...to make him call quits?"

"We were playing chess like we usually do when I visit…" Her eyes crossed the room towards the well-dressed butler standing in the corner. "And there was no ease into his message...he just told me as I began to sit down that he had to let me go. He gave me no excuse, and asked me to leave and that I was never to see him again." The butler's glasses shined when the sun pouring in from the window hit them. She was unnerved by him. He was nothing like Sebastian, besides his dark appearance. "I went wandering into town and had the thought that I had to see you; that you were the person I had to talk to." She fell silent, staring at the floor.

Her gaze caught his attention and he soon followed it to his butler. 'When did he get here?' He thought.

"What a silly thought... Now where were you to be influenced to entertain that?" He raised a questioning brow. His words were of interest, but his gaze showed nothing short of boredom, puffed up by his cheek he leaned against his palm. "Or were you bored? Maybe you're looking for a new muse? I'd hate to hurt you," He lied, "But I hardly take interest in women."

"No, no of course not," she sighed, still in denial that all of this was actually happening. She looked directly into his oceanic eyes, seeing her reflection in their pitch black centers. She immediately looked away and regained a deep breath, almost coughing. "I saw a ruffled shirt in the market, similar to the one you wear." She nodded at the soft fabric that rested on his figure. "And when I did…I just thought I had to see you. I'm not sure why."

"...How cute," He grumbled, looking down at his own shirt. But he was flattered, really. Though of course, a counselor was not something he'd like to be recognized as. Though, he was in someone's thoughts. And he was starting to bring himself around to the idea that maybe the breakdown Elizabeth had had, put her in the same initiative as he. "...Do you care?" He asked quite simply, expecting nothing more than a shrug.

"What do you mean 'do I care'"? She was becoming frustrated that this boy wouldn't accept the fact that someone actually wished to listen to him; to hear him out.

"Do you care?!" He repeated himself with a more passionate tone, almost a shriek of desperation. "...Or are you just distracting me so you don't get hurt?"

"Of course I care, Alois, what...why-" she was at a loss for words.

"But why me? Why did you come to me?" He slumped back down beside her.

She looked over at him and noticed that he was no longer the boy that had clung to her jaw. He was sad and genuinely distraught. "Because even though we have our differences, and I know you hate me, I knew that somewhere, you and I were the same."

Silence was all he could really conjure in the moment to offer her. He was still angry; that much wouldn't go. But he was tame enough to understand her sense, senseless enough to feel just a brush of guilt and guilty enough to touch the tips of his fingers to her reddened jaw, a somber glance.

"I forgive you," Elizabeth said, understanding his physicality. She could see right through him, like he was a piece of crystalline glass. He was beautiful in almost every way, but there was something behind that glass being hidden, maybe? "I feel strange, being here, but it's calming." She touches his soft hand with her index finger and thumb and immediately retracted it at the cold his skin emanated

The warmth of her fingers had broken through the trance he seemed to cling too. He fluttered his eyes and flinch upright. He felt the new warmth at his own flesh with the blush that controlled it with reckless ambiguity. "That's probably because you aren't used to it 'ere..." He returns to a neutral stance in his chair, retracting his hand. Words of apology would never be uttered from the Earl. "...I like you," Was the best she would ever get.

She smiled. Those words were comforting now more than ever. "Is that so?" She giggled watching his features that remained completely biased.

"...Yeah," He chimed, turning to face her again with a snicker in return. "You're fun to pick on," were simply words to justify his cruel self.

"Hm." She was a bit hurt by the comment but she figured it was better than him actually picking on her. She turned away, ignoring him and he could tell she was a bit upset.

With a shuffle of his butt he slid in his chair to cross his legs over the arm of his chair, leaning back onto his palm at the other to glance at the back of her head. "What is it now?"

"You don't have to be so confident around me, you know." She said with sass.

"Oh is that so?" He sang with a bratty tone returning to his voice.

"Yes, it is." Her voice was loud and curt as she turned around, arms crossed. "I can understand why you do it in front of everyone else, but I'm just trying to show you people can actually care if you let them in."

He giggled at that. "People don't care, Elizabeth. They take. They are sly. I thought I taught you that." With a brush of his fingers he stroked his cowlick back, turning into the back of the seat to coddle into it.

"But I don't believe you truly are that kind of person, Alois. You just pretend to be." She was now standing in front of his chair, hands clasped together along the prettily tied bow at the hipline. She just stared at him, waiting for a response; one that could make or break him.

The adolescent continued to stare at his curled up lap, a pause in his breath before he let out a sigh of dissonance. He turned his gaze to the young woman with heavy lids. "I suppose..."

She sat on the ground in front of him with her knees sinking into the mauve carpet. Her head sat comfortably on her neck as she stared up at the boy. He looked weary, exhausted and a bit unsure. "Alois?"

"What?" He mumbled, following her movement with a set vision before closing them, squeezing them for a second and opening them again, a new set to them; energy. He threw himself upright in the chair and slumped his chin into his palms, crouching over. "What is it?"

"Do you want me to go?" She had jumped back, leaning on one arm, taken aback by his quick movement. She quickly caught her breath and tried to make contact with his eyes. He was too interested now, and it scared her.

"No!" He cried. Fear of being alone was his one weakness. He reached for her and lost balance with his violent thrust, falling to his knees before her. He stared down with a pained libido.

"A-Alois…" Her eyes had never been so wide, her vision had never been so blurred by confusion. She reached down for him and without a second thought, caught him in a strong embrace. "Then I won't."

A staggered breath and a noise of uncertainty escaped his lungs as he held the wrist to her arm tightly that coddled him. It was a grip of sudden resentment that soon smoldered and turned into something of need, he threw himself up and into her, joining her in an embrace. "Elizabeth..." He choked.

She drew in her breath quickly at the slight stinging of her wrist and then rested her hand on the back of his head. Her fingers sat on his soft blonde hair as she held him. "I'm not going anywhere." She was still in complete awe that he had surrendered himself to her like that. "Please...don't cry." She told him as if reassuring him that everything would be okay.

The boy found warmth in her flesh at the curve of her neck, burying himself in her lacy bunches, keeping a stubborn hold on her. It was true. The Trancy boy was very cold, very selfish... And that wasn't going to change. But she had done it. She had broken through the ice of Alois Trancy and offered him pure compassion with a harsh bite of honor. She held him. And the child natured teenager found guidance.

"Don't... Tell me what to do..." He sobbed.

She smiled solemnly and chuckled quietly at his stubborn response. She pulled him in closer, running her lacy white glove along his cheek bone, wiping away the tears that trailed there. "You're a very strong person, Alois. You needn't cry." She held his chin in her hand and looked down at him sweetly, gazing into his misty ice-colored eyes. She began to giggle slightly.

The blurry vision of the blonde rested upon the others' eyes, releasing her giggling form to take a new softer hold to her face, his own twisting in an attempt to stifle his that was riddled in pain; he touched his forehead to hers in defeat.

Yes. Elizabeth had broken through his ice. But she had absolutely no idea what she had gotten herself into.

"Thank you, for letting me visit, Alois." She quietly spoke those words into his face, her head still leaning against his, eyes closed. She knew all he needed was love and comfort, and she was willing to try and help him. She rested her hand on the back of his neck, warming the chill that his skin continued to release. Her thumbs rested on the side of his neck under his ears, and she slowly stroked them back and forth in a comforting motion as he choked on his quickly disappearing tears.

Making a mewl of release he sighed softly through his nose, closing his eyes in the brief moment of tranquility, forgetting about the figure that stood statue like in the corner, and very briefly forgetting about his hate upon society; The burning rage to eradicate those that shun him. And then he wondered 'how long will it last?' before quickly decided upon '...I don't care.'

"Will you stay...? Forever...?" Though his forever was destined to be quite shortly lived; forever to the girl was just innocence.

She opened her eyes only to notice that his already were and staring desperately through her. A warm feeling in her chest began expanding and her heart began to race. "Oh, Alois..." She placed her hand on the side of his face and grinned. "I…" She was conflicted with the idea that he wanted her to stay, only because she wasn't sure Ciel was serious about what he had said to her, but she didn't care. This boy needed her, and in a way, she needed him. She stopped, looked down and grinned again softly and then brought her face to meet his. "Yes, Alois. I'll stay with you."

The chilly digits that remained upon her cheek bones dusted her flesh in a slight caress in something of adoration of the girl's words. Though he was quite aware that she came to him with heartache of her own, she had succeeded in taking his own - the ache that caped his soul in a rotting cask. But he didn't much care for Ciel. He didn't care too much about Elizabeth either. But he was still in complete dote upon her. And with a greedy grip, his touch tightened and met his own lips with hers, a kiss of satisfaction.

She hesitated at his sudden kiss, her eyes wide in horror, but then she realized it was a pleasant kiss. He wasn't harsh, or weak, it was gentle and warm. His lips were like velvet beneath hers, and at the same time, she entwined her fingers into his hair, holding him close, sighing in satisfaction.

He let the kiss last, for it was just a sweetly placed kiss of affection, nothing more nor less. As he retracted his lips he lingered, lacing his light breath with her own and retreating a hand from the shape of her jaw, he placed it upon her lap. "..." was a stutter as his heavy gaze found hers. "E-...Elizabeth..."

Her eyes were still closed as she wrapped her mind around what had just happened. She breathed heavily but quietly, and placed her hand on his. "Yes, Alois?" She slightly laughed as she looked up at him. She laughed, not out of disrespect, but utter confusion and enjoyment.

"...I don't know," He grumbled in something of annoyance in his confusion of what happened. He didn't really understand why he kissed her. Kissing to him should not have been that kind. Kissing was something done to express dominance; in his experience. He let his eyes fall shut again as he slid back into the embrace, turning his palm up to grab hold of her and tug her towards him in a greedy way, his actions something of fatigue as he held her tight at her shoulders.

Her hands rested by her side for a moment after the sudden tug and her back, but she could understand why he acted the way he did. She raised her arms to wrap around his back and rubbed her fingers along his shoulder blades comforting him. He was slightly shaking, but she couldn't tell if it was out of nerves or anger, and she held on for as long as she could, breathing in his sweet scent that resonated on his skin and his clothing.

There were few things the Earl had associated with bliss. Slumber after a long time of being awake, the first gulp of water on a hot day or in the middle of the night with a fever. But an embrace he knew not of. He knew well the striking pain of lust and the ache in his flesh of reckless hands. And he knew an empty glare followed by empty words of comfort that he hated so much that stayed with him day in and out.

It was so nice; being hugged back. The texture of the cotton that made her dress, the bunchy crunch of her petticoats that fanned around her body, the two curly locks that lay thick on her shoulders that brushed against his cheeks in the embrace; even her body heat... He now called bliss. He snickered at himself.

Elizabeth had been introduced to many things in her past which led her to believe in so much more than she could count. She believed that love was being invited over for a ball and dancing with her arranged fiancé. She believed that love was playing chess on a summer afternoon, with the curtains pulled open drinking fresh tea and eating strawberry cake in the parlor. She believed that love was shopping in every market in the town square for the most perfect petticoat and gown that she could lay her eyes on... She believed love was watching her darling, Ciel, struggle day in and day out and being there by his side through it all...But, despite all of this, she didn't believe it anymore. She didn't believe now that someone as cold as the Earl Trancy, was what love was...or what love should be. Not in a romantic sense; not as of yet.

His skin became warm against hers when they touched. Their heartbeats beat together with the ticking of the mahogany grandfather clock standing in the corner of the room. His breath was sweet, like mint and roses, and his touch was as gentle as a piece of silk floating against her arms. She embraced him, refusing to let this go. She was happy, sitting silently in his arms. She felt welcome for the very first time.


	3. Flutters into Bruises

Alois had kept silent for the best of five minutes holding her. He was getting accustomed to the sensation, his breathing now a steady and tranquil pace. He slowly raked himself from her physique, keeping a feeble gaze of melancholy. He was a sorry excuse for anything that could of been masculine. Though he was streetwise, definitely that_. You can't take the street out of a boy._ But both his behaviour and body - even his attitude was _feminine._ But He was still young. And so was Elizabeth. They were both still innocent to an emotion as potent as 'love' despite what may or may not have been portrayed as such in his younger days, but one thing was certain; Alois was in love with her commitment.

And Elizabeth had never known a boy like Alois could be so humane, and act pleasantly. But she realized something as she looked at his solemn gaze. He too was human like her and knew that deep down he had the needs she had; even though love was futile. She stood by his side with her hand resting inside of his. Her head only reached his shoulders and so she leaned against them as he showed her to the balcony that sat above what was a perfect view of his garden.

Philanthropy was definitely not what the Earl knew well. Who showed him any? And it was rare a person had pleasure, dare I say, to enter his lifestyle unless they were ominous or of importance. It was rare that his reticent maid would live a day without his torment, as it was Claude would scarcely get peace from his blasé mockery. And it wasn't like they dared or even tried to entertain him. It wasn't like they would set down their things and come to him. Not unless he was hurt, or upset; this is why he was so vindictive. He had to be for any kind of company. So why was it that he was sipping tea and eating sponge cake quietly in his garden among the roses on a blanket at the ground when he hadn't have to nag her, he didn't have to pull her along or have her follow reluctantly and in silence? It scared him, almost. Was he to be suspicious? Or was she just… _stupid? _

Ever since Elizabeth had come to him they spent a lot of time in each other's company. She would visit, and he would entertain her. And it wasn't like her company was a burden to the boy, he enjoyed picnics. And in truth, the girl reminded him of Luka.

With a chuckle of delight, he closes his eyes momentarily, sliding the fork out of his lips that left behind the firm sponge of the cake that lay upon his plate, following a sip of tea. He replaced the cup in its indentation in the matching saucer. The grass padded the two from the dirt along with a thin sheet of cloth, cabbage butterflies flutter into their range every now and then and the clouds move slowly in the azure of a mid-morning sky.

Alois' company had become a part of the norm for Elizabeth. Ever since she had broken down in front of the boy and he the same, she had felt a connection with him and everything was pleasant. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and content and it was even better that he actually smiled around her, something Ciel hadn't done in years. So she sat in the garden with him for hours, for days at a time when he wasn't busying himself.

The blonde picked himself up and brushed himself down as he glanced into the sky with a blissful stretch. It was days like this he had no regrets. Placing a hand at his side, he reached out for his company. "Lady Elizabeth," He began with a playful ring. "Shall we hunt for bugs? Let's have a competition. Whoever can find the ugliest..." He trailed off, thinking up an appropriate reward. "…Gets to be the king for the day!" Though he could have included the possibility of there being a queen. But his ego was too great.

"But bugs are so disgusting. Not cute at all!" She squealed, playfully pouting. "How about we catch butterflies instead?" She giggled, sweetly smiling at his amused face.

"So?!" He argued, a cross of his arms before shrugging it off. He was a boy, a boy with a past that involved a lot of dirt in his survival beyond his current status. That wasn't going to leave him, and he took a great interest in bugs; they fascinated him. He and his brother would spend hours on end prowling the perimeter of their once upon a time home in complete content, picking off their legs to create elaborate legless bugs. But butterflies… He had no quarrel with butterflies, really. They were pretty enough. "Alright. Whoever captures the prettiest butterfly gets to be king."

Elizabeth smiled in gratitude that she wouldn't have to touch any gross bugs. Butterflies were beautiful and she found them exotic. However, she did not know that Alois had once held hostage a butterfly by ripping its wing, so her request was naive and a bit stupid. "Silly, I could be _Queen_, you know," she chimed with her pearly white teeth glistening a foot from his face. "I'm sure I could catch more butterflies than you ever could!" She giggled and started running through the maze of roses, searching hastily for any two winged creature she could find.

"Pah! As if," He exclaimed with the relevance of his tongue at the first word. "Wait, Elizabeth! You need a net!" He called off before staring at the empty path down the flower beds. "..." With illegible grumbles of 'getting a bloody head start' and 'what does she think she'll do, catch them in her glove?' he found the shed he wasn't at all accustomed with. The shed was Canterbury's scene, but nets shouldn't have been too much bother to obtain.

"I don't need a net! I can hold them in my skirt!" Her high pitched voice squealed over the flower beds. She noticed he was walking around the water fountain a distance away and she watched curiously only to see him disappear. "Alois? Where are you going?" She shouted, but he didn't reply, and she went prancing after him.

When he turned in the shed with two small nets he was surprised to see Elizabeth at such a short distance and with such a quiet approach he staggered back. "Dammit, woman!" He yelled out and furrowed his brows together.

She jumped back in surprise, not meaning to startle him and she gave a short scream. She then started to laugh at the comedic situation. "I'm sorry, Alois" she grinned as she snatched a net from his hand and went running out the shed door.

A small grin of amusement sprang into the set of his pale, pouty mouth at her scream. Though, as he watched the running form, the soles of her shoes as she once again escaped him he ran after her.

She was giggling nonstop as her dress brushed up against the hundreds of roses that were planted around the estate. Her heels clicked on the stone steps as she ran towards a royal blue butterfly that sat on the daisies near the columns on the porch. "Alois, look!"

"What is it?" He called, catching up with her as she paused from racing. A large blue butterfly sat proud on a peachy rose, a soft flutter of its silken wings in its pollinating. With a careful stare and a slow hand he brought the net smashing down upon the flower head, capturing the butterfly within its trap.

Elizabeth's face was gaping, eyes and mouth, in shock from his violent swing. "Alois you have to be gentle!" She cried grabbing his arm. "They are very delicate. Don't hurt them." At that moment a another butterfly, a white one, almost glowing from its purity, landed on Elizabeth's shoulder. Only Alois noticed, as she was still staring at the blue butterfly flitting around slowly underneath the wired net.

"Uh...? But it's fine!" He yelled, tossing the net upright to show her an almost dead insect if it wasn't for its small twitches of life. Another butterfly caught his attention. It was one that seemed to think of Elizabeth as a flower. With a stare of concentration he pounced upon her with a slap of two cupped hands. "I got it!" He cried as they thumped to the ground.

Elizabeth made a slight grunting sound as her back hit the stone ground. "A-Alois…why would you do that?" She wasn't yelling, but her voice was loud enough to bring a serious face to the young Earl. And then she saw it. A white butterfly sat on top of Alois' head, just sitting there, staring down at her. A smile drew across her face. "Looks like they like you," she smirked, pointing her eyes at the beautiful creature.

Adverting his irises upwards in attempt to spot the butterfly that should of been in between his hands he made a groaning noise and sat up, shaking the blonde tuffs of hair to stir the insect from its make shift seat. "I like butterflies more when they don't fly," He grumbled in response.

Her blonde curls fell off her shoulders as she sat up and turned her head to look at the boy. "Whatever do you mean?" She sat up on her knees and started to move her hand towards his hair with the intention of tidying it up.

He shrugged simply, not fathoming out any way he could word what he truly meant. But he could try. "They are so cocky. Sitting there all proud and pretty like their shit don't stink. But you know...? Without their wings...they're really ugly."

"Butterflies need their wings." Elizabeth stared out across the garden as she spoke. The breeze whistled through the rustling branches and leaves. "I suppose that's their talent too. They have the ability to fly, but they have to grow used to it, you see." She looked back at him. "Did you know that butterflies were once caterpillars?" She smiled before continuing. "They had to grow up in order to get their wings and fly. They had to experience their life as an ugly caterpillar first." His talent, Alois', was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Elizabeth reached out to grasp Alois' hand, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say.

"...I know that!" He exclaimed in a sudden inexplicable tone. He knew perfectly well what she was hinting at and it bothered him as to why she related him to a butterfly. "...I like butterflies," He mumbled, contradicting himself. And with another piety yet pitiful glance he placed his cheek upon her own; an action he considered most kind.

She could tell he was frustrated, even though he acted pleasantly towards her. She allowed his physical contact and placed her hands around his that rested on her knee. "We don't have to play this anymore if you don't want to?" She spoke innocently, her voice quiet, almost a whisper as she stared at the ground in front of her.

"You know what...?" He murmured in response, lifting himself from her and taking hold of the hand that lay warmly upon his own. "Shall we play hide and seek?"

This made her lips stretch twice the size that they were as gasped in a joyful breath. "Oh, I love hide n' seek! Yes, we should play!" She started to walk away, releasing his hand, only to turn back around. Alois' hand was still outstretched in her direction and she came up right below his ear and whispered, "But this time, I'll win." She giggled into his ear as she rested her hand on his cheek.

With a stutter and a flutter of his lashes the boy gave her a look of impact all but to giggle. "We'll see about that." Turning his nose into her palm with curtsy of the touch he paced back with one step. "And now!" He declared. "To decide who is hiding and who is seeking."

"Oh, I'll hide! You'll never find me, Alois Trancy!" She chimed. Delight rang throughout her high octave range.

"Hmph!" He snapped, crossing his arms. "...Fine, I'll hunt you then. You better be Good at this, Elizabeth…but not too good. Stay in the garden, okay?" Maybe he was telling her these things to make his hunt less difficult to what it could have been. But he really didn't want her wandering off and leaving him.

"Don't be silly. I won't wander off anywhere." She poked the tip of his nose. "Count to…hmm…how about 30? Yes. 30 seconds will be plenty of time for me to hide!"

"A'right, thirty," He agreed, a smirk growing with intentions of counting quickly just to hear her trip with panic. "I'll go count towards the brush, then."

"Okay! Ready…set...and go!" She took off towards a patch of red roses that she saw in the distance. As she ran she turned around to make sure he wasn't peeking.

With a quick pace he began the ascendance from one to thirty with closed eyes, a careful ear to listen to her whereabouts. And with a sudden turn of his toes he chanted "Ready or not, here I come!"

She had hidden underneath a deep corner of a statue attached the wall, surrounded my red roses. Her dress blended in well with them, and the darkness from the overhang covered her blonde hair. She was sure he would never find her.

He had wandered upon a collection of roses, assorted colors of pinks and reds. He must've been searching for a good ten minutes before he began to get impatient. Stopping midway through his tracks he placed his fist upon his hips and scanned the area. That was when he detected the sound of very faint and steady breathing. He smirks.

She had seen Alois walk by nearly five times. She was trying so hard not to laugh as she saw the boy prancing around the garden searching in areas already scanned, but she noticed this time, that he had stopped and turned slightly in the direction where she was. She covered her mouth with her hand trying to make no sound at all.

Approaching the route of what he thought made the sound he hovered over a bushy plant that trailed up and around the wall, he studied it and glanced around once before sinking to the floor. "Ding dong, Elizabeth..."

Just as she saw him, she tackled him onto the ground laughing hysterically. "You took so long to find me!"

The noise that he made was of sheer fear of shock as she tackled him from the depths of the bushes routes. He laughed with her. "Maybe if you weren't so discrete," he replied.

"That's the whole point of the game, silly!" She stayed there, still sprawled across his chest laughing in his face, tears nearly fell from her eyes. His facial expression was priceless.

"Bloody 'ell," He cursed, elevating himself so he meant against his arm, nursing her weight, he blew a flick of hair out of his eye.

She slowly stopped laughing and stared into his face. He eyes were narrowed and the corners of his mouth were turned downwards. She immediately got off of him and stood up, looking down at her feet. "I'm sorry, Alois."

Picking himself up he flicked his head to the side to rid him of the stray strands. He could tell she was being very careful with him. This was probably to avoid any injuries. And he felt a turn in his stomach. "...It's fine."

Elizabeth heard calm in his voice, and she slowly raised her head to his. His face wasn't as wretched as before, but certain stiffness had taken form. "Shall...shall we go have some tea then?" She attempted a smile in his direction, but failed to prevail.

He nodded stiffly, mimicking her vague grin and lifting a slow hand for hers, he lead her into the house.

She willingly held onto his hand, but hesitation flowed through her fingers, tingling their tips. Even after weeks of being with this young Earl, his personality fluctuated more and more which was unsettling to her. She squeezed his hand tighter and looked down at them joined by their sides as they walked up the stone steps to the pair of mahogany doors that gave entrance to the inside of the manor. She moved closer next to him as they walked through the parlor and the vast hallways. Her left arm held his forearm as if she needed the support.

The occasional glace at the girl from the corner of his eyes and the flexing of the scarce muscles that made up his arm, he had led the young girl to a small room which held just one piece of furniture; a wooden tea table that sat neatly at the floor. Though the table wasn't much, the interior of the room certainly made up for it. Lacy gold and webbed black mesh decorated the walls, the ceiling a deep blood red that featured a pure gold oriental dragon. In the middle of the table sat a stone tea pot that nestled comfortably upon a bamboo place mat. It was a room untouched and kept for the most important of affairs. It was a room not of their country, yet Alois cared not for it. But it was a special room to his understanding. He wanted to impress her, or at least use it just once. "The old man had an-... Asian thing," He murmured.

Elizabeth stood a few feet inside the grand archway into the room. The red was so pure that her dress that was made of crimson colored silk, was shameful. The gold of the enormous dragon glittered from the suns violent rays. There were antique porcelain vases lining the walls filled with bamboo plants and leaves. The paint that decorated their surfaces matched the crystalline blue if the Earl's eyes. It was absolutely beautiful; the room was anyway. "This room is exquisite, Alois," she held his hand as she pulled him farther into the room. She touched the surface of the tapestries that hung by the glass windows. "They're so soft. The man had a good taste." She smiled politely at the blonde boy.

"He did, didn't he?" He agreed with a stance of smug pride, following her hasty pulls about the small display of tranquil escapism. He bore no grudge to the man he blithely called his father. Yet he was disturbed and rarely spoke of him he was happy enough to allow this. "He hated me, you know. But I guess I was just too lovely for him to ignore," he sung in arrogance. "So he kept this room as an influence of myself... Though I really can't stand the color scheme..." This was quite evident in the rest of the manor. Not an inch of his house held any contact of red and gold…but this room. This was untouched. It could have been a shine in ways, but with age the boy had begun to understand that some people are...warped.

Watching Elizabeth he kept an unlocked arm, allowing her to explore and poke with the greed of his hand.

He was completely disinterested in her. That was forever to remain true. And he was still as fickle as ever. She was in danger of the cruel boy but his intentions were not of a sadistic nature, in fact he really didn't bother to entertain a though of brutality. But he was fickle. The curly beauty was going to have to be interesting; very interesting to remain someone of his curiosity.

Narrowing his eyes in consumption of his thoughts his hand tightened, just a bit, around hers. And with a jolt of her arm he forced her to fall into him, grabbing her other hand as it flew with her body. A smirk and a small snicker a callous demeanor saturated him. "Hmm…Now why on Earth..." He began with a low voice. "Do you endure my company?"

She remained closely wrapped in Alois' arms. His warmth covered the front of her and as she looked into his desperate gaze, she couldn't help but remain silent. She was transported back to the night they first danced, when he stole her from Ciel. The hatred she had for him was one kept a secret, but now, after months of casual meetings and small parties that she attended at his manor, that hatred had fizzled away and what was respect and gratitude filled its place. "You're not as vile as I thought you were," she replied honestly, still looking directly into him. "You're actually quite charming." She kept herself close to him, feeling every breath he took as he stared down at her porcelain face.

His eyes were narrowed and she was afraid that if she said or did anything to upset him, she would end up getting hit. Yes, she respected Alois. Yes, she cared for him. They had become friends, but she was still intimidated by him. He had bruised her jawline and wrists just weeks before and she was trying to learn how to keep him calm so that he would not abuse her again.

Her hands, which were still cradled inside his, rested on the front of his chest as she stood completely still. Her golden curls rested behind her along her shoulder blades and her lashes were raised upwards, revealing the innocent and non-malevolent emerald pair of eyes to his piercing electric blues.

He didn't care. But that didn't contradict how... Well, beautiful she was. Especially from an upwards glance that was of apprehension though thick lashes; he didn't deny her that. She was beautiful. The night they danced was just a fraction to the time they had spent together and the fraction spent was of empty spite; nothing more or less. He used her that night. And it wasn't like he wasn't using her still, he was attracted to her devotion and compassion but that's probably as far as the Earl would ever venture with his emotions; just meaningless fear to delve. But he didn't want to be weak, either. With a pompous glare and penurious hands he held her now by the waist but keeping one of her hands in a stance of selfish indulgence.

Fear. He knew exactly what it was. And though she always masked it so well, how she kept her head and remained astute, she amused him. Amused him to wondering... 'How far can I push her? Where will she break?' A dark giggle he closed the space between them in an intimidating stalk, a height advantage, actions of dominance.

Alois Trancy was evil. And he was going to ruin her, lest she be tactful.

"Charming... Why don't you show me...How charming you think I am?" He hushed with a wanton tone to his voice.


	4. Seduction into Delor

She couldn't breathe. His face rested right up against hers and the realization of that made her heart stop. His voice was seductive, almost, one he rarely used, if ever. She was aware that he was still capable of tricking her into doing something foolish. That was his nature. He was a child. And children love to play games, but with him right there in front of her, almost nurturing her, she couldn't find a reason to resist.

Without thinking, she raised her chin up so that her lips rested on the corner of his mouth, merely brushing it as she whispered, "How can I prove to you that I'm not playing you?" It was a question she had been longing to ask of him. She wanted to know that he trusted her and knew that she wouldn't betray him. Even with a delicate voice such as hers, the question pierced through the silence. Only the running water from the fountain outside the open windows flowed through the calm air, and his breath, still smelling of sweet mint, was noticed by her. "Why can't you just trust me, Alois?" Her fingers coiled stiffly around the opening of his purple jacket.

Pleased with her compliance he made no effort to shake of the clasp of her hand, seeing nothing of it than an eager action he basked in the reaction she so lavishly responded to him with prevalence of her uneasy and bothered, yet somewhat carnal visage.

And the closeness of her, the touch of her mouth that almost graced his own was just encouragement. She was giving him exactly what he wanted, and he was loving it. The smug boy just got more cocky with his little toy, drawing up a pale hand to caress her chin with a finger and a thumb with little grip; pinching her chin and manipulating her stance to his content.

Making no effort to alter the amorous husk to his tone, his narrowed gaze turned heavy. "You're just... going to have to prove yourself..."

He wasn't just about to kiss her. He was far to superior, or at least how he preferred to think of himself, to make any effort now. He was only going to be happy when she succumbed...when he felt nothing but adoration from his little victim.

Elizabeth was aware, from the mere tone of his voice that he was just playing her and it disgusted her. She lowered her face and backed away from him. "I'm not your toy, Alois." Her eyes grew darker, her face serious and hurt by his manipulation. "You may think that playing with people will get them to like you, to /love/ you..." she paused at those words."…but it won't work. For someone to actually hold you with content and compassion, you have to show them that you have the capability of doing it to them." She grew slightly frustrated. "For weeks now, I have been by your side, learning about you, your life, your home, your family, and I have loved every second of it. Getting to know you was the best thing I could ask for, but I can see that you're still, even after all of this time USING me." She was on the verge of tears and she clasped her hands together. Her curls dangled at the sides of her face. "I care about you, Alois, but I need to know if you care about me too, or else, I can't stay here anymore."

The feature of taunting smirks and dissolute play quickly fell from him, turning into that of a miserable pout, a glare empty, bored as she spoke with a cross of his arms. He had failed and she was annoying him and she had yet to understand that their relationship was very much on his terms. "..." A small growl of frustration resonated in his throat and his hands locked around the fabric of his sleeves. A step towards her and a dip of his head to regain her eye level, not quite to the same closeness as before, he parted his lips to say something snide but hesitated, closing his mouth and lingering, all to close his eyes and let out a breath that flooded from his nose. He didn't want to lose his company. He didn't want to be without her. And though her threat could of been empty to him, she reminded him of Luka. And he had grown fond of her. He had felt the need of her and she was influencing him. He could understand that and recognized this as a reason to hold onto her. So he remained silent and retracted from the protective posture he made of himself and stared off to his side with the sounds of her sobs, feeling nothing short of... guilt.

"Well, Alois?" Tears and mascara stroked down her cheeks. "All you have to say is one little word." She didn't want to leave. Deep down she enjoyed being with him. She had grown highly attached to him. He wasn't just a replacement for Ciel. She wanted to be with this mysterious blonde boy. "Well?" She repeated. The water streaking her face now ran onto her gloves that rested on her flushed cheeks. Her heart was beating fast in terror of being rejected and her breathing grew heavier and heavier.

He moved not from his stance of shame, his body still now with just the rise and fall of his chest. He wasn't happy one bit with this outcome and he didn't mean for her to become so hostile. And it wasn't like she was anyone he was exactly used to; being able to have his maid at complete humiliation at his own expense. So why was he feeling guilty? Was it just the sheer reminisce he felt of her and the uncanny wit of his beloved brother? "Bloody 'ell..." He grumbled, the twinge of self-resentment in his stomach. "I only wanted to have tea with you and a kiss..." With a flex of his jaw he clamped his teeth, letting his gaze fall upon the wreck of a woman he had created. Lifting a curled finger, he pressed it to her cheek, capturing a tear. "...I do care... I just don't know what to do about it." And then fear. He scared himself after uttering those words. Because they were truer than what he wanted to accept. "...I want you, Elizabeth."

Her eyes were still releasing streams of tears and she was choking trying to catch her breath. She fell to her knees, grasping her face in her hands and released every emotion she could. "Please don't toy with me, Alois. Please. I can't lose you too." The memories of Ciel flooded through her brain. They were scattered memories and flashes and shaky whispers of his voice. She cried even harder.

"Elizabeth!" He cried with her sink to the ground, following her and wrapping his hands around her wrists, retracting her hands that coiled around the twisted face of a bawling girl. A shaking woman in absolute pain, maybe, but Alois just couldn't handle this. "Elizabeth!" He called again, shaking her softly and angling himself to capture her attention. "I'm sorry!"

She nearly knocked him over as she embraced him. "I'm so sorry; Alois…please whatever I did to anger you. I'm so sorry." She trembled beneath him longing to be held tightly.

With a stiffened body in absolute shock his arms soon began to creek into place around her back, swooning her into him, locking them together firmly he snuggled her to him, loosening with the violent shudders of her shoulders as she sobbed. "..." With a tighter grip, he dispelled the bunches of material that collected beneath his arms at her back, clasping onto her in complete remorse.

She quietly sobbed into his fine clothing, feeling guilty about ruining them with her pathetic tears. She clung to him like he was her last lifeline and she prayed he wouldn't let go. "A-Alois…" She tried to choke out.

He remained silent, on his knees, hugging her over her shoulders. There wasn't much he could do. So he stayed still, the same look of chagrin.

As the boys arms still rested alongside her, she began to sit up slowly, creeping along the front of his now damp attire. She sniffled lightly at her movement change and made her way up to Alois' face where she sat there staring at him. Her green eyes looked like Christmas puffy and swollen, still wet from the salty tears. She placed her hand on the side of his left cheek and raised her lips to his. She kissed him softly, hoping he would do the same back. She had grown attached to this boy, accustomed to his flamboyant emotions and she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

With the bounce of the curl that hung uneven to the length of her hair that sat most homely at her fringe and the pout of her lips that bunched in a self-pitiful pout greeted his own he retracted from her all but to raise a gentle hand upon the back of her head, his fingers webbing around the routes of her hair, touching her forehead with a nurturing kiss. "I'm really sorry, Elizabeth..."

She leaned her head against the crease of his neck. "It is okay, Alois." She twirled his fringy bangs between her small hands and rested them behind his ear. They sat there in silence embracing each other, absorbing each other's warmth. She cleared her throat slightly to regain her posture as she sat up and took his arm with her. She stared into the corner of the room where his butler now stood. Claude Faustus, was his name according to Alois. He was strange, silent, and dark but also a man Elizabeth had become used to seeing at the manor.

Moving slightly to now observe her expression the hand that held her to his torso retracted down to her neck, a curled finger dusting over the placid white flesh of his companion in attempt to comfort her further; he didn't want her crying. And though she told him it was okay now, he felt an emptiness about it.

She looked up at Alois, noticing that he was already staring down at her with something in his eye, worry maybe? Concern? She was sure, but she knew it was a look out of compassion for her and she managed a quiet giggle while poking her finger into his cheek. "Come, my lord," she chimed at him, still a bit distraught but turning back to her usual self. She pulled him by his arm over to the open window overlooking the fountain and front yard. They could hear the birds singing, the water running, the bugs chirping and the sweet, calm breeze that smelled of autumn. "Look, Alois. Look around you." She smiled, staring off into the distance. "Do you see the beauty before you?" She continued pulling him to the door that led directly outside. They stood on the large stone steps, dozens of feet off the ground. She released his hand and took a deep breath. Her curls flounced back gently from the wind and her dress rustled next to it.

"I suppose it is all rather beautiful," He mumbled, succumbing to her serenity. The grounds he owned ceased to impress him after a good year of living among it. But now, after such a strange day, as the setting sun tainted the sky a warm amber and the thin clouds of autumn glowed a neon pink and the scent of firewood in the air. She had brought understanding to him that evening through her own bawls at his expense. And now she was calmer. Now she was placing her trust in him; sharing a moment of contentment. "But I suppose..." He sighed, shedding his damp coat and folding it over an arm. "I suppose you suit this; this kind of beauty."

She continued to stare out at the ripening sky. She blushed, though the pink glow from the setting sun hid it. "Why me, my lord?" She whispered through her slightly parted lips. Out of all of the fair maidens across London, Alois had chosen to keep her as a companion. It confused her and she wanted to know what made her different. She started to slowly walk down the steps to a cobblestone pathway leading to the separate rose garden where she had earlier found a brown and white rabbit hopping around the grass. The clicking of her shoes seemed to be washed out by the evening noise, horses clopping by, and wheels turning on the dirt road in the front of the manor. They were distant but easily heard. She was hoping the Earl would follow her, but when she turned around, he still stood on the steps.

Lost in thought he stood, staring off at the distant girl that began a slow decent down the path. He didn't really want to tell her that it was out of luck. He didn't want to tell her his love was free to anyone who could offer their affection to him; to acknowledge him. He didn't want to say 'Because you entertain me,' or 'I don't know'. He couldn't give her such a bland answer, he wasn't as confident in himself that she would stay with him if he were to tell her. Because he doubted she could understand when he would say 'But I do care now. I do feel the same. I want you.' He couldn't. He just couldn't. So he stared. And the face of compassion and warmth for the girl soon morphed into a slate of emptiness. Emotion a chore; emotionally worn.

He didn't know what to tell her. And he was disappointed.

"Alois?" She repeated his name, but after waiting for several more moments for a reply that never came, she turned around and continued down the path. A lot had happened over the course of that day so she could understand why he may not have responded or why his mind was so far gone, but either way, she wished he would answer.

Elizabeth was a being of emotion. She was happy and excited and when she became upset, her face turned into Niagara Falls. At that moment, however, watching his emotionless face, she felt nothing. She didn't feel overjoyed and happy, but she didn't feel remorseful, guilty or sad either. It was just a state of being.

Silence was one thing that made situations awkward between them. Elizabeth was always used to keeping a conversation with someone, full of laughter and old memories and whimsical stories, and her and the Earl had had many of those times, but when neither of them spoke, a tension grew. It wasn't an atmosphere of anger; it was of sheer awkwardness, obliviousness and naivety for both of them.

He didn't like this. No ounce of his soul could ever belong in comfort to this...whatever it was. But he couldn't just allow it to continue, nor could he conjure up an apt explanation. And it nerved him, how apathetic she was. How...not Lizzy-like she was.

With a steady step and a wary look to his eyes he stalked in on her, silence ensnaring them with merciless disdain.

Though his lips had parted and his breath flowed freely a sound that should had been words was but a stutter, a noise of hesitation and nerve.

"...Elizabeth... Let's go to bed," He finally uttered, hoping she would understand his surrender. It wasn't exactly 'I love you,' but it was intent as such.

And his proposal wasn't something innocent. It wasn't asking her to sip tea with him. Even so; it was completely empty of anything that could of been lust. He wanted to lay with her. He wanted to sleep with her. He wanted to be close. But he didn't want to corrupt her.

Not like that old man.

She was surprised to hear his voice over her shoulder as her crouched body extended a hand to a blue rose that had wilted over slightly. The words, however, that came from his voice were ones that made her body freeze. 'Let's go to bed.' Had he really said that? Or was she just imagining it?

She slowly turned her small body, standing up as her feet twisted in the grass. Her expression remained serious, her eyes calm, her eyebrows less than narrow, and her mouth sealed shut. What she saw when she looked up was a boy who had a care in the world. And for once, she realized it was her.

Her lips slowly parted as she began to speak, but nothing came out. Her lips touched again and then parted, beginning again, hoping words would actually fall from them. "What did you just say...Alois?" Her tone wasn't harsh, just confused.

He felt something quite recognizable. It was the feeling of being disregarded; the feeling of hopeless desire. He was hurt. And exactly what he didn't want to happen was happening. She was an empty husk. And once again the boy had found himself loving and being unloved.

And it was all because he couldn't just say it.

H knew that from her question she had taken him wrongly and he was now realizing himself what he had just said.

"Stop that..." He murmured, distracting himself from answering her. She was picking a dying rose, and it wasn't exactly of this world; it was blue. Blue roses... Do not exist in this world. "The thorns..." Taking her hand into his, he uncurled her fingers from the threatening stalk, surprised she hadn't yet managed to cut herself.

Disregarding the alien rose - something that once upon a time would of held his attention fully - he kept a hold of her hand.

"...Just... Sleep with me."

Her hand remained cupped in his gentle grasp. She wanted to believe she was misunderstanding what he was saying, but she was unsure. Did he mean sleep with her…or…something else? Something more natural? Maybe something comforting or heart-warming.

She held his gaze with her eyes flooded with innocence. She was not a girl that went with anyone, but Alois…she didn't know his love-life never mind that. She hoped that he was just playing, though it wasn't exactly a funny game he was playing. The fact that she misunderstood him never registered in her brain. She had a very one tract mind, and once an idea was in her head, it wouldn't leave unless directly acknowledged by the reason it was there in the first place; in this case, it was Alois.

"I don't think I can do that, Alois...I'm not like that." She replied quietly, still holding his hand.

The solemn glance twisted into frustration. It was just slight, ever so slight, but it was there.

The Earl tightened his grip around her hand in slight panic.

He was losing her.

And he could feel his patience

S

L

I

P

P

I

N

G

The hands that clasps at hers jolted forward, dragging her into arms that flicked out in desperation, swarming her to him in a firm grip.

"If we go to bed we can wake up happy!" He cried in a bogus idealism. "Why? Why can't you just do that for me? You promised you wouldn't leave!" His words soon turned into screams. And Elizabeth had made a very bad decision.

She had given herself to the unloved.

"A-Alois!" He was suffocating her by his violent embrace. "Alois!" She tried to yell, but her voice was muffled beneath his clothing that stuck to her.

She finally understood. He wanted her, but not in the way she had originally assumed. 'Idiot'…she thought herself. 'I'm such an idiot'…but his screams terrified her. She was afraid to say something; she couldn't say anything anyway. She could hardly breathe.

Alois' yells of emotional pain shot through her like daggers. She didn't mean to hurt him...she just hadn't understood what he meant. "A-.." she started to say. The tightness of her corset alone was enough to cause her lungs to cave in slightly. Even as a girl, her mother taught her how to dress like a lady and that meant a thin waist...even if it meant lack of oxygen. His arms were doubled over her like a second...a third…corset.

She struggled to escape his embrace, but the more she tried to move, the tighter his limbs came together around her. She was stuck.

The clamps of his arms just continued to press against her until he heard her yelp. He was hurting her.

Dropping her ever so suddenly, he scrammed away from the breathless girl, a tortured look of concern and frustration.

'Why... must I hurt everything? Why must everyone I care for die or... show me nothing? Why do animals run from me at first glance? And why can't people just do as they're damn told?'

Thoughts that plagued his mind.

"Fine!" He yelled at her with distress. "Just leave! See if I care!" With this he turned sharply. And for once he was adornment.

He'd be the one running away.

Her hands held her chest. Elizabeth's lungs were aching and her ribs felt shattered, of course they weren't. She breathed slowly in and out trying to catch her breath, tears quietly lining her bottom lid.

"A-Alois, please!" She choked. Her breathless voice desperately cried out to him. She didn't want him to leave. That's not what she wanted. Her breathing grew heavier. "Don't leave me!" She managed to croak out as her fuzzed mind overcame her. Her vision blurred seeing only the back of the young Earl's purple coat. She felt her cheek hit the cold, sweet smelling grass, and everything went black.


	5. Chimera into Verity

Elizabeth had been waiting for this afternoon for days now. Ciel had been away by request of the Queen and it had been months since he left the Phantomhive manor. She had spent the last week planning everything perfectly, everything from her ecstatic greetings to the way her bow sat in her hair to the way to drink her tea in front of him. She didn't know what to expect under the circumstances so she took extra precautions.

In the carriage she continuously twirled her hair to make sure it was extra curly and no sign of frizz could be seen. She was constantly brushing her skirts down so they laid flat without any wrinkles and adjusted her bow slightly to the left of her ponytail. "Lady Elizabeth, calm down. Everything will be just fine," Paula's incredibly joyful smile reassured her.

"What?" Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at the maid. "Oh, yes, I suppose you're right, Paula," she trailed off. The carriage pulled up in front of the large stone steps leading up to the Phantomhive manor. Elizabeth looked up at the grand building that she occasionally passed by over the course of the few months her beloved was away. Her eyes shifted to the large magnificent glass windows that viewed over the large fountain they sat in front of. She could see a tall, dark, looming figure from the corner of the glass as the curtain shifted slightly as it disappeared.

"I just want everything to be perfect."

When Elizabeth met the door of the manor at her maid's side, her fingers hesitated at the knocker that hung heavily on the wood. She hadn't seen Ciel in such a long time. It was often when she would pass the gate of his home and she would think of her beloved. And she never forgot a single detail about him. She loved Ciel. She always had.

"Lady Elizabeth?" Paula inquired, pulling her out of her glaze of reminiscence.

Paula was without a doubt Elizabeth's best friend. She raised her. Even though the age gap between them was of seven years, Paula could understand her at best. Her mother, being a woman of business scarcely kept time for her daughter, only really spending an hour on her to train her with sabers before she would move to another student. Elizabeth was reluctant to learn, naturally. Even though it wasn't 'cute at all', it kept her dear mother happy.

With a kind giggle, Paula laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "My lady, it's alright. Surely this is a happy day, is it not?"

"Yes Paula, you're right," She agreed before finally bashing the knocker against the metal with curt swiftness.

Immediately, almost as if he was waiting behind the door listening for her to finalize her presence, the door opened to reveal an ominous man, gently smirking. It could have been hospitable. But there was always something very off about this butler her Ciel acquired. "Welcome, Lady Elizabeth. What a pleasant surprise," he boldly chimed with a display of friendliness.

"Oh, why, hello Sebastian," she chimed just a bit too excitedly. She was nervous, even Paula could tell. Elizabeth looked up at the butler with uncertain eyes with a large tooth-bearing smile on her face. "Is, uh," she paused at a loss for words. "Is Ciel home?" She choked out.

Sebastian remained properly poised, one hand behind his back and grinned politely. "Why, yes, he is, my young Lady. Won't you come in? I'll go call for the young master," he bowed slightly, his dark eyes gazing into hers.

She managed a small cough and agreed to come in, keeping her hand slightly behind Paula's. The sight and smell of the manor brought back so many memories. She had missed being there and she smiled as she walked around recognizing the clearly polished furniture and swords that hung on the walls. She turned, only to see Paula. "Oh, I suppose he already left?" She questioned, although she already knew the obvious answer.

"Hm, why, yes, my Lady," Paula smiled. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just fine," her eyes glanced up to the maid's. She was shaking with anxiety. She needed to see Ciel. She had missed him so much. She began tapping her foot, lightly with impatience; however, she was doing it unknowingly. She had no intention in being rude.

When Sebastian returned he came with a tray of tea, the same gentle smirk. "I trust you like Darjeeling, My Lady?" And with an idle nod she watched the man cross the space between them, passing her to place white gloves knuckles on the door to Ciel's study. "Master? Lady Elizabeth has come to see you. And I have made tea."

"Yes," sounded his tone of apathy.

Elizabeth squealed slightly at the sound of Ciel's voice and then remembered the able butler had asked her an indirect question. "Oh, yes, Sebastian, thank you. Darjeeling is perfect," she smiled at the man in black and immediately looked over at Paula who had found slight entertainment in the satin napkins that lined the small table.

Without a word of approval she found the door knob and swung feverishly into the room. At first glimpse of him she stopped. Only a flash of confusion coloured her face as she gazed upon the boy that seemed to have grown ever so slightly on his time away from her. It was a minute change to him, but she noticed that. And he didn't look best pleased at all... But that's just how he was. Right?

"Ciel!" She chirped with elation to see him, a rush in her steps and a smile of content. Her arms swooned around his shoulders and her cheek squashed against his, leaving a bewildered Sebastian that quickly found composure and returned to his usual demeanor, striding calmly in; a contradiction of herself. Paula was entertaining herself with Mey-Rin. They got on well, undoubtedly because they both shared the same position. And they were women of course, so they always had plenty to talk about.

Ciel looked with wider eyes at his fiancée that now stood blithely beside him. And with a steadied sigh he rose to meet her. "Elizabeth..." He began before receiving a look of concern from Sebastian that Elizabeth seemed to miss. "...Shall we play chess?"

Her chest filled with warmth at the sound of his voice. All she was able to do was look at him and smile, tracing her eyes along the soft curves of his boyish face and the contrasting high stated clothing. "Oh, yes, Ciel," her voice twinkled. "I'd love that very much." She took his hand in hers and remained silent as he led her to the side room where, when she arrived, Sebastian was looking out of. "Hm," she quietly commented, Ciel lacking to acknowledge this.

The tea sat untouched on the desk as they neglected the drawing room, perching themselves snugly on separate chairs before each other, a small table between them that supported a green box.

As Ciel removed its packaging and laid his favourite chess board out he kept his eyes low on his work, a distant glean to his eyes. There was something other than chess that he intended for the girl today. It was decided. It had been decided for weeks, and with such a heavy heart...

The pieces now laid and ready, He sat back, and locked his fingers together, his slacked emptiness setting his mouth in his usual pout of disinterest. But his eyes, they remained distant. "You can go first."

"Oh, no, I couldn't. It's your game," she giggled as she watched his now melancholy face watching her from across the table. There was something wrong with him today, she knew that. Was he not excited to see her? Was there something wrong with her hair? Was she missing something that she shouldn't have? "Um, Ciel...?" She began solemnly. "Are you alright? You should smile, silly!" She attempted a smile but his expression remained the same, so she fell silent and her smile turned into a line etched straight from cheek to cheek. "Alright, then," she followed with, moving one pawn to a square to her right.

"Elizabeth," He began. He didn't quite understand why he haltered. His tone was set in poignancy, ready to delve into what he needed to tell her.

The past month was not a pleasant one. The cult had detected his whereabouts and he and Sebastian was out culling them off. But one of them... One vile, repugnant old man escaped them. It was upon his return home did he find the letter beside his door.

_Ciel Phantomhive, _

_ You're existence is a sin. I don't know how you survived the ceremony. But if we can't have you, we'll have the second best thing. _

_ A pain poorer than passing._

Such adequate alliteration for a lunatic.

He wasn't quite sure what the 'second best thing' was and why it would be a 'pain poorer than passing'. And in truth, he was unnerved.

That's exactly why he had to do this.

But he decided swiftly, his lady wasn't the most agile to argue with. So he would use a harsh tone. He would make this... clean.

"Elizabeth," He began again to the now tense young girl, a clear ring in his tone. "I want you to leave now, and you are not to see me again. I do not want to marry you."

The beige chess piece that had been cradled delicately between her lace covered fingers knocked onto the chess board; a clatter of pain. She couldn't feel anything but her heart pounding in her tightly bound chest. Following, the now side-laid chess piece mocked her with the face looking up at her, no emotion, almost content. Her lips were pursed as she continued to look down at the piece while her hand remained in the air above the table, but the tears that filled her eyes began to run over her delicate cheeks.

He didn't understand what she was doing. Truth be told, he was expecting hell to be released. But for some reason... she remained passive and did not laps into her tantrum or pitiful sobs.

But this was good.

With a soft sigh his eyes closed and his brows furrowed, rising from his seat. He stood, and watched her.

Ciel had done this with good intentions. They grew up together. They shared memories of happier times and Elizabeth would forever remain in his heart.

And that's why he had to do this.

He wanted to comfort her... He really did. And he couldn't help but feel a sickly feeling in his gut as his face set stone-like in a heartless demeanor.

"Sebastian...Will show you your way out, now."

Elizabeth remained a statue in the velvet azure chair. _'I knew it.'_ She thought to herself. _'I knew it...I knew it...I knew it..'_ Her head remained down, her hair was the only part of her body above the neckline that could be seen, but the salty teardrops began to trickle onto the mahogany table.

"Elizabeth," Ciel's familiar voice echoed against her ears.

Paula's voice followed nearly on top of the young Earl's, "My lady..." Her voice was full of worry and Elizabeth could feel a pair of soft hands resting on her shoulder.

"No," was the only word that came out of the girl's mouth. "No," she repeated, louder this time, her voice beginning to crack.

"Lady Elizabeth," Paula repeated, but the calmness of her voice was not what Elizabeth needed to hear. She shoved her chair backwards, knocking Paula's hands from her shoulders as she stood, fists clenched by her sides, looking up at the boy who still wore a serious mask but his eyes flickered with concern and uncertainty.

She glared at her beloved. "How could you, Ciel?" Her voice still held the same squeak it usually had but this time it was coated over with pain and regret and anger.

The Earl did not reply. He stood there with his dark butler right at his side.

"So, you aren't going to answer me then?"

Still no reply.

Her body shook and trembled in rage as she stared at the tops of her leather covered feet. "Ciel..." she began quietly and then she flung her head up so she could look at him directly.

"You're such an idiot!" She shouted. "I _hate_ you!"

And with that, she was out the door, her heels clicking down the wooden hallway at a quickening pace. Tears streaked down her face and the distant call of her maid was heard behind her.

And Ciel, so was he, but she kept moving forward. He was behind her. Forever.

With a flutter of her lids and a viscous ray of light, Elizabeth awakened from her reminiscing dream. Her sight, weak with a blur from congested tears and her body heavy in the duvets lay silently. That... was not a dream she wanted. It wasn't even a dream. It was the nightmare of her reality, coming back to haunt her slumber.

Rolling from her side she lay flat with limbs of fatigue. Her wrist rose to press against the hollows of her eyes as her lips slowly parted in a single whimper of self-pity. She was alone once again in Alois' bed. And she welcomed this isolation.

"Ciel..." She faintly hushed.


	6. Decor into Trees

Chapter 6

It was in the early hours of the day did Alois stir from his comatose. He had gotten his way. Though unjust it was, he got what he wanted.

A trickle of light had leaked through the gap of his curtains and a coven of starlings sung pleasantly overhead. The bed was warm, still, and peaceful. Beside him sat a sleeping Elizabeth, who he had joined in the middle of the night. She was animated purely by the steady rise and fall of her amicable breaths.

She looked happy in her slumber. It was refreshing, lovely. From the set of her mouth and the slack release of tension in her face - everything from how her hair laid carelessly in a scatter around her pillow or the slight cowlick of how she had laid and rolled over in the night. She was serene and beautiful.

At the side of them sat a bunch of nets that he had shed from her skirts and the corset he lawfully freed her of; all in good will for her comfort.

Raising himself into a seating position he lifted a heavy limb to the light in protest, a nip of his brows and a soft groan. Then averting his attention, he glanced at the sleeping Elizabeth.

She was a messy sleeper, unlike himself. The cover was twisted and crippled around her legs and her arm lay loosely over the side of the bed. And with a small sigh, he collected the fallen sheet and replaced it back onto her shoulders before shifting to the side and rising cautiously not to wake her from the bed.

Today was a new day.

And it was to be spent without tears, he decided.

Elizabeth's dreams were pleasant ones. Paula's laughter shone through when she had clumsily dropped a box of Christmas ornaments, her mother's voice telling her everything was going to be alright, that she didn't have to worry about a thing. She heard Alois' voice calling her softly. His giggle and sly snicker filled her brain. 'Whoever captures the prettiest butterfly gets to be king.' Words drawing from his mouth just whispered throughout a color scheme of blue and purple mist, but that one only lasted a moment until a monotone voice shattered the steadiness of the dream. She could hear Ciel's mild tone calling her from a distance. She woke suddenly to the ticking of the clock that sat on a wooden mantle across from the bed she was lying in. She was shaking still. His name fell quietly from her lips that she bit in order to keep herself from crying. That memory would never be etched from her brain.

Elizabeth brushed the hair from her face and removed the covers from her legs. She saw her petticoats and corset hanging up next to the bed. Looking down, she noticed she was wearing a lavender colored nightgown. "How did I-..." She started to say when she heard soft laughter coming from the doorway.

It was Alois.

"Alois?" He walked back into the room. He was already fully clothed, dressed to the nines, and then there was her; her hair was tasseled in a giant want on top of her head, her makeup brushed from her face and in a nightgown.

It was when he was dressed did he feel his best. Standing before the widespread bed he held his weight to one leg, slender arms rising to cross across his body before the girl. She looked startled and a vague blink of her eyes and the release of her lips confirmed a quizzical tone.

He was only awake for an hour when he decided to check on her. Claude had already been in and out to dress him and breakfast was ready for two.

In truth he had undressed her. And he enjoyed it, like dressing up a doll. Hannah's night gown was just a little too big, but it served its purpose well enough. But he was a teenage boy. He wasn't going to deny the thoughts he had. But there was a time and place, he understood.

A raise of his brow and an energized smirk he watched her transpire from the covers and sit up. "You look terrible," he lied. A giggle followed directly after. "It's about time. Christ, you sleep like a cat or something." Though sleeping kittens weren't anything he thought of looking 'terrible' his remarks were but play in order to lighten her ambiguity.

She smiled at his playful insult. "How kind of you, Alois." She stood up, completely forgetting she was in her nightgown. She walked up to the young boy and looked up at him. "You came back." Her voice was soft and gracious. Elizabeth rested her hand on his face that was drawn with a smirk. The last thing she had seen was him walking away. He was leaving her. But here he was, standing in front of her.

"I couldn't have just left you," He grumbled, glancing at her with softer grace, his hand rested comfortably at the curve of her hip. "What would the gardener of thought?"

Of course he came back for her. When she didn't follow him, he was angry. He went searching for her to yell, to tell her that he was disappointed, that she was liar. But he had pushed her too far. Consequently she was ill, he presumed; A fever or something.

"Are you alright now?"

"I'm alright, I suppose. Sore. Tired. But I'm alive." She laughed to lighten the mood. "Thank you, Alois." She embraced him, her skin resting against his cotton shirt. "I suppose I should get dressed." She glanced over at her pink dress that had been dirtied when she had fallen to the ground.

"You can wear Hannah's clothes," He implied, following her gaze to the pile of fabric. "Oh, and breakfast is ready. Come eat that first."

"Really? I hope she doesn't mind." She looked over at the clock. The antique hand rested on the ten and three. _It's late. _ She thought. "What's for breakfast?"

"She won't," he chimed with a settling look of glee. Though the maid wouldn't have much of a choice in it, but to Alois, she was a silly whore. He doubted she would care if she were to even wander naked for a day. "We have pancakes, come on!" With this he rushed to her side, taking a hand before seeking consent and pulling her up.

She yelled merely for a moment as he pulled her. They raced down the broad hallways that made up the labyrinth that was the Trancy Manor. It was absolutely beautiful. She had never seen this part of the house only because they spent most of their visiting time in the parlor or outside...never the retiring wings.

The banquet hall was shining in silver wall decorations, shields, swords, candlesticks and the tableware that sat on the large chestnut table was the same. A pile of three different kinds of pancakes sat in mountains on three silver platters. Elizabeth stood there, mouth open, at the variety of breakfasts and fruit. "You really outdid yourself, Alois..." She giggled, still holding onto his hand.

"Ah!" He bawled, pulling her to a chair and drawing it out for her. "I can't cook, Elizabeth! This is Claude's cooking, and it's delicious, you need to eat all of them with me!" He slid into his own chair, a goofy smile remaining with closed joy and soft 'Ah's in his giggles.

He was trying. And he wondered if she was noticing but he thought that maybe that wouldn't have had a positive outcome. This was fine, though. He could encourage a happy atmosphere.

Pulling a plate towards him with a sharp arm he prodded the top of the thin English pancakes, picking up three at a time, he pushed them off his fork onto her plate then three for himself, his hands clung to the sides of his seat with an energetic sway as he waited for the praise for his able butler.

Elizabeth sat curiously watching the boy and his over-excited actions. "Alois...are you alright?" She asked him in a serious tone, but his face froze, tongue sticking out at the corner of his mouth when she asked. She couldn't help but burst into laughing. She had forgotten about what had happened the day previous, so she enjoyed the breakfast with the Earl. She looked down at her plate which was completely filled with the moist pancakes. A small bowl, about the size of a teacup, sat in front of her filled with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries topped with what she believed was cream cheese whip.

"Claude, you're culinary skills are incredible. This food looks delicious!" She chimed, her hands clasped together under her chin. Her eyes sparkled. This happy atmosphere made her comfortable once again.

Looking over in wonder at the Earl, she nervously brushed her fingers through her hair. She forgot that she hadn't tidied up before coming downstairs.

A proud look overflowed his features, a mouth full of pancake and cream.

When they both finished, he rose. "Let's go clothes hunting," He sang, running back to her side and dragging the chair out from beneath the table in little haste. They raced back through the never ending halls, down a set of stairs and into a lower level of the mansion. It wasn't exactly baron, nor was it dismal. But it wasn't as elegant as the rest of the estate, and color was nonexistent.

They came upon a door of a brown wood and a golden door knob; Hannah's room.

The happy features of the blond had almost perished as an expression of indifference dulled the blue to his eyes.

He had never liked Hannah. There was just something about her. It was somewhat ominous whenever she kept silent, something innocent that just felt too... fake. He thought of her as an attention whore.

Turning back to face Elizabeth, he smiled again in the same nonchalant manner and twisted the handle to swing the door open.

Inside the room, Elizabeth saw a plain chestnut bed almost the color of the dining table covered in white laced sheets. The walls were barren except for a few candles that hung on the walls, and a window draped with an azure toned curtain. A wardrobe sat to the left of them when they entered. It wasn't very large, maybe enough to hold a few different sets of clothing. It wasn't anything exquisite.

"This is Hannah's room?" Elizabeth questioned Alois. She was almost disappointed. She hoped to find something cute or frilly as a decoration, as Hannah was a girl just like herself. She stood in the center of the room, panning the ceiling and walls for something that would interest her, but it was just a room with a bed, a window and a wardrobe.

"Yes," he replied, rummaging through her clothing. Throwing out various dresses and cardigans he huffed and delved in deeper, material upon material just piling in the floor; nothing was interesting.

"Bugger..." He grumbled, finally rearing himself out with one singular dress remaining in his hand. He stared it over and tossed it behind him. "None of these things would suit you. Stupid Hannah." With a cross of his arms his mouth pouted sulking, panning himself in a circle for any means of another source of clothing.

"I can just wear my other dress, Alois. Really, it's not a fuss." She smiled at him. It amused her how frustrated he got over something so petty. "It's just a dress, Alois," she hugged his right arm, resting her head on the soft fabric. "Okay?" She really didn't mind what she wore. Hannah's dresses seemed perfectly fine for her, and they would be big enough so she would not have to squeeze into that corset again.

"Alright, fine," He mumbled in failure, stepping over the mess he had made with her arm in his, he led her out of the room and back to the main house.

Alois didn't want the day to be wasted doing nothing. So he stared for a moment at nothing before perking up. "Elizabeth! I found a path in the forest with berry bushes, shall we go pick some?"

The young lady had just finished combing through her hair, curling it back into its original shape. She realized that she needed assistance putting on the corset anyway, so she didn't bother with her own dress. Certainly Alois couldn't help her put it on, and the only other person in the manor was Claude. She didn't mind wearing the nightgown. It was comfortable. She ran over to Alois' side. The sun was beating down on them, though it was a cool day. "Oh, I just love berries! Yes, let's go!" She giggled excitedly grasping Alois' hand.

He never really paid much attention to her hair. But watching her with the brush carefully stroking her locks into fine hair was almost therapeutic.

"Hmm...?" He snapped out of the trance he had lapsed into sometime of watching her correct her appearance to her liking. "Yes!" He yelled with a snicker, raising with a bounce and rushing to hold her arm with both of his hands, an invasive closeness of his body against hers, his nose almost touching her jaw. "We'll get a hamper and fill it up with the slow berries on the little footpath."

She was excited that he had finally been able find happiness in the smallest things. She smiled into his and started bounding off towards the path, and then she realized she hadn't the slightest idea on WHERE the path was. Alois hadn't shown her yet. She paused and put her finger to her chin. "Uh, Alois?" She called. "Where exactly is the path?" She turned around, and the sun glaring off of her eyes made her look stunning, adorable and cute all at the same time. She looked around continuously hoping to spot it before he did.

"Huh... The path..." He blinked, looking around at what was once a garden that now blended into something of a forest. The path...

"It's..." He mused for a moment before lifting a slim digit to the east. "Over there somewhere!" He yelled with reckless direction.

"Are you sure?" She shouted as she was leaping over to where the Earl was pointing. She kept crouching underneath bushes and tried jumping up to see over large plants that lined the garden, but she could not seem to find it.

"Alois...you must be crazy," she began, "there's nothing over he-..." and then she saw it. A white deer stood on a pathway just in front of her. She took one step forward and paused, scared that the deer would charge at her if she went any closer.

"Alois!" She yelled in a softer tone. "Alois, come look!"

She continued to call his name until she heard the clicking of his short leather boots chasing up to her on the cobblestone and when he arrived, he was speechless.


	7. Stags into Prurience

Chapter 7

With a raise of a brow in question to her quiet yells, he joined her. "What is it?" And then he saw it. The deer stood a mere three or four strides from where their feet were planted. He spoke in a normal tone, attracting the stag's attention; it's head snapping towards them and stiffening in fear. "...A white deer?" he whispered lowly to her.

She gasped at the assumption. Could it be the infamous white stag that she had heard so much about? Her high pitched vocals whispered next to his face that was almost directly resting on hers. The deer was quite beautiful. Even its antlers were white. It just stood there between the maple trees that made up the forest behind the manor. Elizabeth took another step forward and stopped when Alois grabbed her wrist.

"You'll spook it!" He cried lowly, pulling her limb softly to retreat. He was a little taken aback with the presence of an infamous being to be near his place of residence; especially under his Faustian spell.

That's right. He had forgotten.

He was going to die.

A solemn and despaired boy stared at the girl who was in awe of the animal.

This fact was inevitable.

Tugging her into him he wrapped arms around the softer body of a corset-less Elizabeth; self-satisfaction with a pout she couldn't really see because of the embrace from behind her - they both stared at the spooked stag that quickly resumed its sense and galloped away.

She breathed slowly but loudly, holding onto Alois' arms that wrapped tightly around her. "What do you think it was doing here?" She spoke a little louder to him. She could feel his heartbeat against her unbound back. Even though she wasn't looking directly into his face, she could tell his mood had changed, but she didn't know exactly what that mood was. She relaxed inside his arms tilting her head to the right so that her hairline rested under the crease of his neck and ear.

"Well bugger," He mumbled, staring off at it as it soon disappeared into the depths of the forest. "I have no clue... It was probably after you," He said with a threatening tone to taunt her implying she was being chased. Though of course, being chased by a stag wasn't a bad thing. But it could of been intimidating if it was charging with poised antlers, he decided.

"Oh, stop it," she wriggled between his arms, not angry but not amused. "Did you know that this path was here?" She cocked her up slightly to look into his gaze. He kept staring at the woods. The pathway narrowed and curved into the wooden stalks and leaves blew across it, erasing any trace of the white stag, like she had imagined it.

Releasing her, he glanced to her at his side then at the direction she was pointing. "The path!" He exclaimed, and ducked down beneath a branch to slid down the waterless reservoir and onto the path.

Looking back at her, he watched as the female faffed to join him and snickered.

"Wait, Alois. Should we really be going down that trail?" She was worried that the stag was still out there. If it was, it could be angry that they were nearly following it. Elizabeth could see the berry bushes in the distance where Alois had ventured near at a quick pace, but she walked slowly looking back and forth to the left and right keeping an eye out for anything strange. She was so pre-occupied with finding the stag that she accidentally bumped into the Earl. "Oh, excuse me. Sorry." It was clear she was a bit frazzled.

Keeping rigid as they collided he turned to grin in attempt to reassure. "It's fine. This place was been untouched by people for a long while now." Scanning the foliage with a hasty gaze he also spotted the berries, grabbing her hand again to race her over to the foot of the brambles. Slow berries and raspberries decorated the deep green of the leaves which made the spiky briar.

"...Bloody 'ell!" He whined. "We forgot the hamper."

Elizabeth gasped, receiving an excellent idea. "Why don't we just use this nightgown? As long as we're careful, we won't get any juice on it. I'm sure it can hold a lot." She trailed off, holding up the edge of the nightgown to imagine how many berries it could hold. "What do you say Alo-" she stopped when she saw the look on his face. He was grinning, but it wasn't an expression of twisted pleasure, it was happiness. Her hands unclenched the white cloth as she watched him. The corners of her mouth rose to the sides of her face and she blushed.

He was looking at her in a way he never had before. It was like he really cared about what she was saying. He cared about her thoughts and ideas and her actions. He cared about /her/. She dropped her head with a soft chuckle and a huff and walked over to him, grabbing his hand. He suddenly blinked as if coming out of a trance. "There are some really delicious looking berries over here," she pointed behind her. "Come on."

The glazed irises focused back into reality to set his pupils into shrinking undilation with the viscous sun light of the late summer. He had heard her, though he wasn't quite paying attention; it was now coming back to him with her soft little laughs. "...Yes, that's a great idea, We'll use your nightdress!"

When she had led him to the brush of berries she took fancy too, he chortled. "Elizabeth, these are baccata berries, they're poisonous." With a smug look he grinned in self absorbency, proud of himself with remembering his biology lesson.

But they lingered, staring at the red decorated plant, he could feel her other hand drop the fold of her skirts she made in readiness to harness they're harvest.

With a squeeze of her hand he left it, bringing his knuckles to squash against his hand, bringing a chorus of clicking. "Stay here! I'll go get the hamper, find some nice edible berries. If you find some slow berries we can sell them off for gin and go buy a dress."

She watched carefully as he cracked his knuckles with poise, ready to set off on his mission. "Okay," she faintly replied. She questioned being left alone in the woods. It was getting darker out from the grey clouds rolling in, but the sun still partially shone through the branches onto the forest floor. She turned around, leaves crunching beneath her brown leather boots and looked up to find a bird's nest sitting just above her. She smiled at the red robin chirping in its home and looked back down to see the berry bushes shifting from the breeze.

It was strange but, being outside reminded her of home, when she played outside with Ciel and her mum when they were little. She looked around the bushes for some ripe red berries. She found a good handful of them, as well as some lying on the ground near the trunks of the leafy bushes.

A few minutes went by and she waited for Alois to return and passed the time by counting the leaves on a nearby maple tree. Of course, she lost track about halfway through and started over again. She kept getting distracted by branches crackling in the woods behind her. She would grow quiet with every snap and turn to look and see if anything was there, but there never was, so she continued on, still grasping onto the plump berries between her fingers.

He must have been searching the kitchen for five minutes until he managed to knock a series of copper pans off balance and onto the ground, attracting the presence of a crawly Claude who revealed the willow weaved basket to be tucked neatly away at the top of the cupboard. With a heavy clod he landed from the counter and carried it blithely to the fringe of the forest where he left his curly companion.

She hadn't moved far at all; just around the small open space. And she didn't seem to notice him either so he kept his feet light impishly, a new kind of fun occupied his senseless mind.

From behind the tree he lurked with a careful gaze, waiting for her to turn, to be still. The hamper lay loosely in his fingers and his back presses against the coarse bark of the sycamore tree, the sensation of the rough husk pressing into his fleshy thighs. He stood still, listening, moving ever so slowly now and then to glance at his victim of his pouncing game.

Elizabeth found herself repeatedly counting the berries in her palms. 'What was taking him so long?' She wondered to herself. Maybe he couldn't find the trail again or maybe he was lost in the woods. No. She couldn't think of such silly ideas.

Again she heard a twig break in the woods behind her, but from experience she just remained facing the bushes. Everytime she turned around at the slightest noise, nothing was there, so she thought it was a waste of her time, unknowing the shock that would befall her. As she continued plucking the berries from their home, she saw a flash of purple from the corner of her eye. She stopped and tilted her head slightly and grinned at the playful boy.

Thinking she would see Alois behind her, she turned quickly to her left but just the woods stared her in the face. The trees whistled as the wind continued to blow through them and Elizabeth, at this moment, was becoming rather unnerved by the strange thing she had seen. She turned around and stared into the darkening forest, but saw nothing.

She nervously turned back around facing the row of plants that awaited her and as she shifted, the leaves continued to break and crackle beneath her soles.

Did she spot him? He frowned to himself. And with another sly peek around the edge of the trees body he saw her back, his confidence returning. And as she began to move around the space for more berries as she plucked them plentifully and left fruitless vines he saw his opportunity. She was coming closer, and he had to hold his breath lest he be detected. At it was with a leap and a jaunty "Boo!" Did he startle the girl for his own satisfaction, giggling away at the few berries that escaped her.

She screamed in terror that quickly turned into playful banter. "Alois, you're so horrid!" She clung to his arms as she bent over in laughter. She noticed the berries had fallen all over the pathway when she released her hands from the edge of her nightshirt. "Oh, no, look," she whined. "Now they are all dirty!" She pouted, still holding onto the trickster. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with innocence. "What are we going to do now?"

She eyed the woven basket that had fallen to the ground when she gripped him. "Oh, so you found it?" She chuckled. "Finally. I thought you had gotten lost." She teased him.

"Of course I didn't get lost; I'm a boy!" He cried in arrogance which condensed into dark laughter of her dismay at the fallen fruit which he couldn't help but feel she had put on. Keeping a loose limb he allowed her to clutch onto him as he bent to pick up a berry and inspect it. Upon a closer gaze he arose again, turning to tug his arm, making her follow into him. "We'll just pick 'em up! There fine," He told her, dropping it into the basket that sat amongst the fallen leaves and conkers. "...It's going to be Halloween soon..." He mumbled, his cheery self-turning tedious and shallow.

Elizabeth bent over and picked up the woven basket. She held the handles between her tiny hands as Alois bent over continuously to pick up the berries that littered the floor. "Yes, I suppose Halloween is coming soon..." she replied incoherently. The last time Halloween had come around, she had attended the Earl's large masquerade ball. A slight tension crossed her face and limbs, tightening her hold on the basket.

Elizabeth looked down to see the purple boy clutch handfuls of berries to toss them between her hands into the pit. She felt she should help him, but she was distracted by the way he constantly shifted the hair off of his porcelain face when he stood up straight. With every time, his crystal eyes shone in the rays of light coming through the branches.

"Well, are you just going to stand there?" He asked with his remarkable attitude. Elizabeth moved her head to the side to see him watching her intensely.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was distracted." She giggled nervously as she placed the basket in between them. She dug her knees into the sodden ground and began picking up the tiny red bulbs all around her.

With a role of ignorant eyes he strayed from her to entertain the bushes once more, plucking feverishly at the small baubles that coloured the foliage pleasantly, chucking his handful into the basket every now and then when he felt satisfaction with the amount harvested.

There were a collective of berries in the depths of the thistles, and his arm blindly snaked through to capture them between his fingers. On his retreat, however, his hands caught the spiky thorns and he flinched away with a harsh whistle which could have been a hiss through his teeth. "Bugger!" He cried, tearing his flesh when he had contracted his hand.

Elizabeth immediately looked over to the boy who was holding his wrist, his palm lying open flat. "Alois, what happened?" She said concerned. She trotted over to him where she could see a bit of blood trickling across his fingers. "Oh, Alois. You have to be more careful!" She scolded him gently. "We have to get this cleaned up," she looked around while holding his wrist. Dozens of berries remained scattered beneath their feet and she sighed in despair. Unable to find anything to clean the cut off with, she carefully tore a piece of the lavender fabric from the bottom of her nightshirt and tied it tightly around the boy's hand.

"There," she said proudly, smiling. "I think we have enough berries don't you think?" She picked up the basket and ran her fingers across the top of the layers. She noticed that Alois was not saying anything, and so she looked up and he was just staring at her. There was something about the way he looked at her. His eyes were gracious and compassionate. What had gotten into him?

Silent as he was, he watched her. His finger now dressed tightly was slowly staining the fabric. And he knew Hannah wouldn't be best pleased about her night dress, she would have to sleep nude. But he decided that that would not matter because she was a whore.

Hannah... He hated her. She was always_ there_ always _lurking_ almost as if she didn't trust him to play nice. She was... Nothing but an attention whore. To Alois, that was. But Elizabeth, she was... just good hearted, really. And he knew, he understood that she done things with the best intentions. But why?

Did she love him?

His eyes seemed to narrow in a tinge of joy that smarted his nose that he refused to let fester. He couldn't cry to her. Not like he done that night.

He gave a hesitant breath as he began to say something but decided not to. Now looking at the floor in his emotional madness his bangs concealed his face that twisted and mangled with uncertainty. And with another sharp growl of frustration he had her pinned against the tree he had hidden behind, pressing her wrists to the bark but keeping his finger free with fear of it hurting at grasping her.

He wasn't malicious with her. He was just greedy and confused. With a deeper breath he gazed at her, deciding upon glee at her greener gaze, a look that belonged to a startled, cute bunny. "Elizabeth..." He sighed.

She remained silent as his hands gripped her wrists. He had bumped her arm into the trunk where he had originally injured it, but she showed no pain. The girl breathed heavily, staring into the eyes of the boy who had a twist of lust and love misting in his eyes. She tried to adjust her arms to escape but he held her back with a force she was incapable of breaking. "Alois..." she squeaked as she continued to stare at him breathlessly.

Her voice was annoyingly high, enough to make him blink with sudden reality. With a slight sigh he closed his eyes in a fuzz of thoughts, he became solemn. And with the release of her wrists he giggled. "Sorry." Somehow his face had inched towards her in his return to joy. And with what courtesy he had, he kissed her. It wasn't the first time. He had pecked her before. But this time... though thankful it was, he was just a little too... lewd.

She squirmed beneath the harsh kiss. This was confusing to her. He may have meant well, but the kiss he planted on her cherry lips was obscure, not normal, or even pleasant for that matter. It was as if he was forcing her to accept the thanks he was giving. And she didn't like it. When he backed away from her parted lips she glared at him, but more in confusion than anger. She shoved her arm from his hold, yanked up the basket of berries to her side and stormed away down the path. She had to get away before he did anything further to frustrate her.

Watching the back of her slowly descend he scowled, ignorant to her fury. Now clenching his jaw he stalked in on her. "Elizabeth!" He called with temper. He didn't understand why she turned on him, and he was a little insulted which just amplified in his face of neglect. "Elizabeth!" He called again with a higher octave, beginning to run to catch her up, he ensnared her by the skirt of the night gown. "What's wrong with you?!" He asked at an angle of his thrust out to grab the fabric.

She turnes abruptly before he could lay a finger on the fabric making him nearly crash into her. She just looked at the boy, her eyebrows crossed, the basket leaning against her curve. But her glare softened and she watched him. Her expression turns from anger to frustration to guilt to sadness in a matter of one minute. She looked down into the basket as Alois cautiously approached her and rested a hand on her cheek.

The emotion that emitted onto his face was that of sad frustration. He didn't want her to go... He thought he made this clear to her. He didn't understand why she saw offense in his action. He didn't understand why she couldn't see that the almost uncomfortable hold on her face as his other hand clasped around her free cheek was, of course, greedy. But not with intent of hurting her. It was a grip of need.

She surrendered to his gentle touch. She shivered slightly at the chill his fingers spread across her heavenly warm face. Elizabeth's temper had gotten the best of her and she hated herself for it. Just the idea of his aggressive kiss unnerved her. It wasn't anything she had ever experienced before.

Ciel had never kissed her. Ciel had hardly even hugged her, so, the Trancy's action was unwavering.

Elizabeth shivered as the breeze took hold of her skirt, revealing her shins and ankles. The sun had begun to set and grey clouds were rolling in slightly from the East. She opened her eyes to look at Alois whose gaze never evaded hers.

Alois watched her as goose-bumps began to rise at the viscous wind and his hands soon fell to release her, uncertain to know if he was forgiven.

They stood with close proximity, silent for a few seconds in the cold afternoon, bucolic together. It was when he felt the brisk temperature travel up the back of his own coat did he begin. "...Dinner will be ready soon," he suggested in haste for shelter.

The two of them were a complete contrast of the other. Though blonde and beautiful they both were, the boy claimed length of three inches above Elizabeth, but the girl had more colour and kept a soft redness to her cheeks; A soft peachy complexion.

With a soft puff of air the chilly nose of the perplex boy buried it in the tuffs of her hair, causing her to stir and look at him in question all to flash a weak smile of nonchalance.

She rested her free hand on the back of his neck, pulling him close, still tense from his previous advance on her. The girl didn't know of the boys harsh past, and it was to stay that way as long as she held him. "Shall we go inside then?" She nearly whispered in his ear. She brushed her forehead against the outside of his neck beneath his chin, breathing in his light maple-scent from the trees, and sighing in forgiveness.

She loved being around Alois. Just, some things he did were strange and completely ridiculous and new. Some were vile, some were nurturing and some were just plain cruel… but, this is why she stayed. His crazy temper and melodramatic stance constantly brought her joy, because he was different. And different was good.

She smiled, pulling back from the embrace and coiled her fingers around his. "Well?" She smiled.

Not much expecting her embrace, his limbs seemed to stiffen before he found warmth at her throat, a sense of loveliness; and a hug he soon gave her in return.

"...Yes," He replied finally, withdrawing to offer his hand and a grin of appeasement.


End file.
